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Friday Five with Michele Rondelli of ZigZagZurich

Swiss born Michele Rondelli studied architecture and interior design in Switzerland and in Paris, France, before joining architectural and design firms located in the United States and Asia. In 2002, Rondelli launched his own practice in Spain and then a second office in Zurich in 2008, where he focused on consulting for architecture, interior design, and design projects in the private and corporate sectors. His extensive experience in the interior design and textile worlds led to his role as Creative Director of Jakob Schlaepfer Home Collection from 2008 to 2015. Since then, Rondelli has been the Creative Director behind ZigZagZurich (featured before here) and 4Spaces, two innovative textile brands based in Switzerland. The experienced creative gives us a look at five things he’s passionate about in this Friday Five.

Left: Ai micro Cervocalf Messenger Bag by Arkis \\\ Right: Detail of Primo Chair MC 14 by Konstantin Grcic for Mattiazzi

1. Quality, Precision, Details
To define luxury today is not just about putting a price tag to a product. Key components in quality and precision will define the smallest details, which summed up makes the product. My professor at early stage of my education mentored that quality cannot be produced cheaply. Even if I have a driven personality, in my work I allow enough time to work out details – in textiles we incorporate as much art and craftsmanship as possible. By working with leading architects I create with my team solutions, which have to meet the highest standards, visually and technically. I personally like the work of Albert Kriemler of Akris and the clean approach in Konstantin Grcic’s creations.

2. A moment of silence
In these evolving times of mobility and connectivity, my true luxury is to pull out and enjoy a moment of silence. Silence is essential to reflect, prioritize, to give creativity time to create and to allow visions to mature. I like to go to places that are set back in times and remained authentic and honest.

RAL 7039

3. Colours or Colors
As much as I am in love with strong colour, I like the absence of colours actually too – if that even exists. 50 shades of grey – what a great idea, not as film but as colour concept. Colours for me are rarely decoration, it is a language and if perfectly applied to a situation and product it fuses away and becomes part of the overall feeling. Mark Rothko’s view on colors was exquisite and remains inspirational.

Photos courtesy of Diener&Diener

4. A for Art, Architecture
Both are for me crucial, as inspiration for myself and dialogue between generations. I understand my role nowadays in nurturing upcoming artists and designers and give them a chance to explore and expand. When it comes to architecture I am more impressed by truth than vanity, which explain my collaborations with Herzog deMeuron, Diener&Diener and David Chipperfield. I find the multimediawork from Swiss artist Pippilotti Rist inspiring and bonkers.

Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey at Spiritland

5. Music, Movies
Love to dive into music and movies. Series on Netflix are dangerous for keeping your sleeping time short. David Lynch, Clint Eastwood two of my favourite directors. Spiritland puts the love and passion back into music – one of my favourite cafés and bars in Kings Cross London built around a world-class sound system playing musical programming 24/7.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.